Machine for the production of wire ropes



Feb. 28, 1950 c. J. HOLM 2,498,921

MACHINE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WIRE ROPES Filed Dec. 29, 1947 2-4. mm A'Ffoansy Patented Feb. 28. 1950 a "UNlTED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE FORQTHE PRODUCTION OF WIRE norns Carl Julianus'Ho'lm, Trondheim, Norway ApplicationDecember 29, 1947; SerialNo. 794,231

a" Claimsi (c1. sv so) In the production. .of wire ropes theindividual wires are first twisted ona stranding machine to form strands and then the latter are. twisted in a similar manner on. a rope closing machine to form the finishedwire rope.

The. stranding and rope closing. machines differ in dimensions only-the principle of operation and general construction being identical.

In the following specification and claims reference will be made to stranding machines and individual wires, but it will easily be understood that the invention applies equally well to ropeclosirig machines operatingon thesame principle.

' In stranding and wire closing machines the bobbins carrying the individual wires or strands are generally mounted in forks pivoted on a frame rotating about a horizontal axis.

' The wires including the central core are then conducted to the nose or head of the machine in which the twisting operation is performed and the finished strand is wound upon a bobbin rotating about a stationary axis. Wire rope machines of this type have several drawbacks. First: The rotating frame carrying the wire bobbins has a great inertia which puts a definite limit to the speed of operation. Second: As it is practically impossible to mount the bobbins in the rotating frame without a certain amount of play, the bobbins will reciprocate in their bearings owing to the centrifugal action causing unavoidable wear of the parts involved as well as undesirable noise.

Further the substitution of new full bobbins for spent ones becomes a rather complicated job ow-. ing to the unbalanced condition of the frame during the changing process.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid these drawbacks and to provide a wire rope machine which adapted to operate silently at a high speed and in which the exchange of bobbins is simplified. The machine in accordance with the present invention also has the advantage of occupying far less floor space than the machines used up to the present time.

The main feature of the wire rope machine in accordance with the present invention consists in that the bobbins supplying the wires-or strands are suspended in a substantially horizontal plane at a level above or below a twisting mechanism, performing the twisting of wires or strands about a substantially vertical axis.

In accordance with another feature of the invention the wire bobbins are rotatably suspended from the lower ends of rotating shafts the axesof which'remain stationary during the twisting operation. I

Af'urther feature of the invention consists in that the rotating shafts carrying the wire bobbins being mounted in an annular frame which is adapted to be rotated. about its axis for changing the position of the bobbin carrying shafts, means bein provided for lockingv said annular frame in a stationary position during the twisting operation.

A still further feature of the invention. consists in the axes of the bobbin carrying shafts converging downwardly towards an apex located on the axis of the twisting mechanism substantially at the point at which the twisting. operation is performed.

The last named feature enables the wires to be conducted from the several bobbins to the nose or head of the machine without being exposed to bending stresses during their passage from bobbin to nose.

Inorder to make the invention clearly'understood an embodiment ofv the same shall. now be described with. reference to the drawings which illustrate ina diagrammatical manner a strandingmachine in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 1 is a vertical view of the machine with parts shown in section and Fig. 2 is a plan view The wire bobbins 5 are rotatably mounted in' forks (not shown) on the lower ends of shafts 6,

which are again rotatably mounted in spaced relation along the circumference of frame I. 'The axes of shafts 6 converge downwardly towards an apex located on the vertical axis of the frame.

.The bobbin 1 carrying the central core is suspended in a similar manner as wire bobbins 5 from a rotatably mounted central shaft 8.

Shafts 6 and 8 are rotated by means of belt drives 9, In so as to avoid twisting the wires or core about their own axes during the strand forming operation.

A stationary head or nose I l is located approximately at the apex point towards which the axes of shafts 5 converge, said head or nose comprising suitable individual guides for the core and the wires.

From the head or nose H the core and the wires pass through the hollow shaft l2 of a frame l3 rotating about a vertical axis and having mounted herein the receiving bobbin [4 for the finished strand.

Conventional driving means (not shown) are provided for rotating frame l3 and bobbin 14 at correct relative speeds to obtain an uniform pitch during the twisting operation which takes place between the stationary head or nose H and rotating frame I3.

The substitution of full bobbins for spent ones in frame I may easily be carried out from a floor or platform (not shown) located a suitable distance below the frame and this operation is further simplified by releasing the frame so that it may be rotated by hand or otherwise in appropriate steps during the exchange which can then be carried out from one place below the circumference of the frame.

Although the invention has here been described in connection with a stranding machine, it will be easily understood that it may be applied in an identical manner to rope closing machines in which strands are used instead of individual wires.

Alsoit will be understood that although in the embodiment here described and illustrated the bobbin frame is located vertically above the rotating frame l3 and the twisting mechanism, the principle of the invention will not be changed if the whole machine be turned upside down so as to place the bobbin frame below the twisting mechanism.

I claim:

1. A machine for the production of wire ropes and the like comprising an open circular track having the axis thereof vertically disposed, a circular bobbin frame rotatably mounted on said track internally thereof, a plurality of spaced rotatably mounted shafts on said frame, said shafts being inclined with respect to and converging toward a common point on the vertical axis of said machine, bobbins rotatably mounted on an end of each said inclined shaft and arranged in a substantially horizontal plane, a central shaft on said frame vertically-and rotatably mounted, the axis of said central shaft intersecting said common point of convergence of said bobbin shafts, a core carrying bobbin rotatably mounted on an end of said last named shaft, a twisting mechanism mounted on the vertical axis of said machine and spaced from said bobbin frame, means for rotating said bobbin frame, and means for locking said frame in a stationary position during the twisting operation, wires being con ducted from said bobbins to said twisting mechanism being substantially free from bending stresses due to the convergence of the bobbins.

2. A machine for the production of wire ropes and the like, as claimed in claim 1, said shafts being inclined inwardly towards the bottom thereof to a common point on the vertical axis of said machine below said shafts, said bobbins being rotatably mounted on thelower nds of said shafts, and said twisting mechanism being mounted below said bobbins on the vertical axis of said machine, said common point of convergence of said bobbin'shafts being located substantially at the point where twisting of said wire rope is effected by said twisting mechanism.

3. A machine for the production of wire ropes and the like, as claimed in claim 1, said shafts being inclined inwardly towards the top thereof to a common point on the vertical axis of said machine above said shafts, said bobbins being rotatably mounted on the upper ends of said shafts, and said twisting mechanism being mounted above said bobbins on the vertical axis of said machine, said common point of convergence of said bobbin shafts being located substantially at the point where twisting of said wire rope is effected by said twisting mechanism.

CARL JULIANUS HOLM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,334,086 Finkelstein Mar. 16, 1920 1,590,325 Sgritta June 29, 1926 1,911,925 Reed May 30, 1933 2,360,783 MacReadie Oct. 17, 1944 

